Chris Webb MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 22 Jul 2025 · Music Streaming: Label-led Principles · Hansard source

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  indicated assent .

• 22 Jul 2025 · Music Streaming: Label-led Principles · Hansard source

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  Today’s news is great, especially for the artists and musicians in my constituency who regularly play at the Bootleg, a fantastic venue that we must ensure stays open for future generations to enjoy as my dad and I have enjoyed it. What plans are in place to engage with artists, representatives and the trade unions to ensure that today’s welcome changes deliver meaningful improvements for artists at all stages of their careers?

• 21 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: Funding · Hansard source

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  8. What steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate funding for SEND provision.

• 21 Jul 2025 · SEND Provision: Funding · Hansard source

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  The last Government left behind a SEND system that was failing children and families. Parents were made to fight for support, with education, health and care plans denied or delayed and vital services taken away. Tory cuts to early years support, rising poverty and extreme deprivation in Blackpool, as well as the pandemic hitting our children harder than most, have all combined to deepen the crisis facing our most vulnerable young people. What steps is the Education Secretary taking to ensure children in disadvantaged communities like mine, where the need is high and support often falls short, receive the targeted SEND support they urgently require?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Infected Blood Inquiry: Additional Report · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement. Following the inquiry’s report, will the Government now speed up the current timelines of 2027 and 2029 for the payment of compensation to victims?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Asylum Hotels: Migrant Criminal Activity · Hansard source

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  There have been numerous reports over the weekend about an alleged incident at the Metropole hotel, the asylum hotel in my constituency. The Minister will know that I have raised concerns about the hotel numerous times with the Home Office. Will she ensure that this incident is investigated swiftly and that I as the MP and the community get a report urgently?

• 21 Jul 2025 · Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  While we celebrate VJ Day on 15 August, as we should, does the Minister agree that we should also encourage schools to mark that anniversary when term resumes, so that young people remember the sacrifices that so many made and the stories of so many valiant veterans and armed forces personnel?

• 15 Jul 2025 · West Coast Main Line · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Connor Naismith) for securing this debate—although I feel it is slowly turning into that famous Monty Python “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch, with all of us declaring our woes with the west coast main line. My constituency was built by the railway. When trains first arrived in 1846, they transformed a small coastal community into a mecca of British tourism. By 1911, Blackpool Central station was the busiest in the world. By 1936, 650 trains a day moved in and out of our town. It was the golden age for Blackpool, and the golden age for rail travel. Since then, our train services have drastically changed, but our need for connectivity has not. Whether for access to tourism, education or jobs, Blackpool relies on a railway system that works. Our town welcomes more than 21 million visitors every year, from families to conference delegates and people looking for fun and escapism, as they always have in Blackpool. These people should be able to get to Blackpool without relying on expensive parking or wondering whether their train will arrive on time—or whether it will turn up at all. A reliable, affordable and frequent rail service would help us to cut emissions and grow the local economy, and it would give our visitors the experience they deserve. A reliable service is also essential for my constituents, especially Blackpool’s young people. Far too often, promising young talent is forced to move away just to access better work or education, in a significant brain drain that reinforces Blackpool’s many challenges. A functioning west coast main line would make a daily commute to Manchester, Liverpool or Preston a real option for them, instead of a logistical gamble. It would mean that our talent could stay in Blackpool and still have the world at their fingertips. That is not the reality today. Delays, cancellations and overcrowded trains have become a headache we just cannot shift. As someone who regularly travels to Parliament on trains from Blackpool, I am sadly all too familiar with the stresses of commuting from our town, which is literally and often figuratively at the end of the line. I hear from constituents every week who have been forced to accept and even expect delays, cancellations and overcrowding. They want action, and without delay. In 2024, some of the operators serving the west coast main line were missing their timetable targets by more than 20%. That is not a bad day in the office; that is a broken system. Yet under the last Government, contracts were renewed and dividends were paid, as we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra). Passengers were told to settle for less. I am proud to say that this Labour Government are not willing to settle. Bringing our railways back into public ownership is a vital first step to fixing the mess—sending the clear message that this Government are on the side of passengers and staff, not private shareholders. Great British Railways will give us a single accountable body to run the system in the public interest—a railway run on a long-term plan, with fewer delays, better timetables and services that connect communities instead of cutting them off. That is what my constituents deserve and what this Government will deliver. I also welcome the immediate steps to fix the system we have inherited: restoring performance, updating infrastructure and driving electrification. These are the foundations of a better system that Great British Rail can build up. I hope it will deliver the passing loop on our south line; I know previous MPs for Blackpool South have been calling for that for nearly 20 years. Reform cannot be something that happens only in big cities or major commuter routes. As we upgrade transport in the north, we must ensure that towns such as Blackpool are not forgotten simply because they are at the end of the line. I ask the Minister to reassure my constituents that, while we work towards long-term rail reform, she will hold operators to account to ensure performance is improved in the short term. Will she ensure that Blackpool will not be left behind as decisions are made about infrastructure, investment and national strategy? Blackpool is a town with rich history, but also a town that, with the right investment, has a promising future. We have strong ambition and huge potential. Let us build a transport system that matches the aspirations of the people it serves, and let us make sure Blackpool is no longer seen as just at the end of the line, but at the beginning of something better.

• 14 Jul 2025 · UK-France Migration: Co-operation · Hansard source

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  I applaud the Home Secretary for the months of hard work and serious negotiation that have resulted in this deal. We now have the real deterrent that the Conservatives failed for many years to secure for my constituents and others across the country. These deals make it more important that we keep pushing the strength of our domestic response to the smuggling gangs and illegal working, so I have two questions. First off, can the Home Secretary confirm to my constituents that the Metropole hotel in my constituency will be closed as an asylum hotel by this Government before the next election? Also, can she confirm when she expects the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to become law, and would it help if the Conservatives and Reform supported the Bill so that we can get the job done?

• 10 Jul 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T4. My constituent Andy is one of several former civil servants in my constituency affected by the McCloud judgment. Like many of them, he is still waiting to receive his hard- earned pension, and the delay is causing serious distress. While Andy recovers from major surgery, he now faces financial hardship due to many missed deadlines and delays. Will the Minister agree to meet me to discuss Andy’s case and the cases of three other constituents affected who have contacted me to ensure that their cases are resolved urgently?

• 7 Jul 2025 · Neighbourhood Policing · Hansard source

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  10. What recent progress her Department has made on improving neighbourhood policing.

• 7 Jul 2025 · Neighbourhood Policing · Hansard source

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  Last week I joined Blackpool police and our police and crime commissioner, Clive Grunshaw, under the iconic Blackpool tower to launch the safer streets summer initiative in Blackpool. This has coincided with delivering the guarantee that every community in Blackpool will now have a named police officer and PCSO, which has been welcomed across the community. Can the Home Secretary confirm that my constituents will soon see more visible policing and regular foot patrols in our town centre, and, crucially, start to feel safer and more confident on the streets of Blackpool?

• 26 Jun 2025 · Passenger Rail Performance: Cumbria · Hansard source

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  18. What steps she is taking to improve passenger rail performance.

• 26 Jun 2025 · Passenger Rail Performance: Cumbria · Hansard source

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  In 1911, Blackpool was home to the busiest railway station in the world—a testament to our town’s rich transport heritage. Today, the Blackpool South line urgently needs a passing loop to enable trains to pass each other and deliver the reliable, frequent rail service that our community in South Shore deserves. The Government’s recent £4 million investment in Blackpool’s local bus services was welcome. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the long-overdue need for investment in the Blackpool South line to finally deliver that passing loop?

• 26 Jun 2025 · G7 and NATO Summits · Hansard source

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  It is the first duty of any Government and Prime Minister to keep this country safe. The Prime Minister takes that role incredibly seriously, in stark contrast to what we have seen today from the Leader of the Opposition. The Prime Minister has visited Blackpool many times since becoming leader of our party. At Blackpool sixth-form college, young people told him that they were crying out for local jobs in the Blackpool area, to keep them there. Will he ensure that the defence increase to 5%, which is welcome, creates the decent, well paid jobs on the Fylde coast so that young people in Blackpool can get those jobs where they live?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Mr Speaker, this week has been a great week for rugby league with Billy Boston being knighted, but you will be astonished to find out that only one former boxer has ever been knighted—Sir Henry Cooper. Does the Leader of the House agree that more grassroots, working-class sports stars should be knighted, and that maybe Kevin Sinfield and Lennox Lewis would be a good start?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Spending Review: Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  My constituents in Blackpool South will never forgive or forget that the previous Government left us with the worst health outcomes in the country. We have an ICB having to make £350 million of cuts. The hospital that my son and I were born in has been left inadequate and one of the worst in the country. We have dental deserts. People cannot get access to mental health counsellors or GPs. I welcome the millions of pounds allocated to Victoria hospital and to health outcomes in my constituency by this Government, and we are seeing waiting lists finally coming down. Does the Minister agree that we need to continue on this path and give deprived areas, such as Blackpool, more support to get our waiting lists down to an acceptable level?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q8. May I start by congratulating Sir Billy Boston? Billy ended his career playing at Blackpool, and I know this has been a long campaign by the Culture Secretary, the Speaker, my hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Josh Simons) and many in this House—congratulations to Sir Billy.It has been exposed by Shelter that 12,000 people are waiting for council housing in Blackpool. This is a damning indictment of the legacy of the 14 years of the previous Government. Hundreds of families in my constituency are waiting for housing, stuck in a bed and breakfast or, like my constituent Kaci with her two children in tow, are sofa surfing. So will the Prime Minister, alongside the Deputy Prime Minister, commit to a new generation of social housing and council housing in my constituency, and help me build a better Blackpool?

• 11 Jun 2025 · Spending Review 2025 · Hansard source

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  Today’s announcement is a great day for Blackpool, which was mentioned more than any other place in the country. The Chancellor will know the issues we face from when she joined me in Blackpool last year and saw for herself the deprivation and the damage that 14 years of the Tories did to our town. Will she confirm that this is just the start and the beginning of new investment for deprived areas such as Blackpool across the country now that we have a Labour Government and a Labour Chancellor in charge?

• 9 Jun 2025 · Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Minister’s announcement and the change in course from the Government. Many of us were uneasy about the low threshold for the winter fuel payment, especially in deprived communities such as mine—I have the most deprived borough in the country. Will the Minister assure my constituents that all pensioners under the threshold will automatically receive the new winter fuel allowance and will not have to do a single thing in the winter to come?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Free School Meals · Hansard source

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  I applaud the Government’s decision to extend free school meals to children across the country. This initiative is a vital step in supporting families in need and will undoubtedly benefit many children across Blackpool, which the Minister will know, as he joined me in visiting primary schools last year. Many, including the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, have called for accelerated efforts to ensure that every child has access to nutritious meals irrespective of their background. Does the Minister agree that it is imperative that we unite in our efforts to guarantee that every child in Blackpool and across the country has the best possible start in life, with access to healthy food, quality education and opportunities for success?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Civil Service Reform · Hansard source

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  How is the Cabinet Office working with the Department of Health and Social Care to bring down waiting lists, not just in Blackpool but across the UK?

• 5 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  Tomorrow marks the start of Pride weekend in Blackpool—a town that has always been a little louder and prouder than most. Blackpool has long been a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community and a place where queer joy has always found a home. I am looking forward to marching in the parade on Saturday and joining locals at the Lord Street party on Sunday. Will the Leader of the House join me in celebrating Blackpool Pride and sending everyone our best wishes for a joyful weekend?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Disadvantaged Communities · Hansard source

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  Nowhere is this issue more stark than in my constituency, where we have 34 critical neighbourhoods—more than any other constituency. They cover every part of the town, with 98% of its population living in them, including my own family. Does my hon. Friend agree that the impact of this issue is felt daily across Blackpool, in my constituency and hers? Does she also believe that this Labour Government finally have a chance—and have a responsibility—to turn the tide for coastal communities like ours?

• 4 Jun 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Blackpool’s own boxing champion, Brian Rose, uses his gym to tackle knife crime and antisocial behaviour and to give young people a safe space, demonstrating the significant impact of amateur gyms. Thousands of amateur gyms up and down the country operate on a shoestring and cannot afford to keep their lights on, and they are reliant on brilliant charities such as Maverick Stars, Empire Fighting Chance and Matchroom in the Community. Will the Prime Minister join me in thanking those charities and praising the volunteers, and will he throw a haymaker behind these gyms, giving them the knock-out support they need to continue their vital work?